Patents and Grants

 

Start-Up project: ARTIOS NanoMed

 

Title : Smart Nano-Reservoirs Technology for Bone Repair and/or Cartilage Regeneration

Keywords: Medical device, smart nanoreservoirs, Active and sustained release, cell dependent release, growth factors, Bone /cartilage unit regeneration

Abstract: This project is aimed at commercializing a new generation of implant for tissue regeneration, incorporating the latest advances in nanomedicine.

Recently, our group has focused on the development of nanostructured active biomaterials for bone and cartilage regeneration. We report here the first demonstration of bone and cartilage regeneration by using a strategy based on a synthetic nanostructured membrane. This electrospun membrane is manufactured by using an FDA approved polymer, PCL (Poly(ε-caprolactone), and functionalised with nanoreservoirs of a growth factor (BMP-2). The European and American authorities have already approved the use of BMP-2 for bone regeneration applications. For example, Medtronics offers InductOS® which is a basic collagen matrix soaked in BMP-2. The efficacy of this kind of combination device is dependent on slow release kinetics for BMPs. This criterion is recognized as the critical, most challenging requirement for combination implants. For efficient bone regeneration, the target cells require a reliable and continuous exposure to growth factors over an extended period of time, until the induction of new bone or subchondral bone. The currently available devices are totally unsophisticated in this respect. In contrast, our proposed medical device, with cell-contact dependent delivery from nanoreservoirs, is designed specifically for sustained availability of BMP-2. This strategy aims at a dramatic enhancement of therapeutic efficacy The innovative proposed medical device fulfils and exceeds the criteria for a BMP-loaded combination implant; BMP-2 from the nanoreservoirs becomes available in a reliable and sustained manner and, in addition, this is dependent on contact with cells.

We have already a patent for this technology and a start up project « ARTiOS nanoMed« .

Our technology also represents an excellent platform on which other sophisticated products could be based. For example:

1. A thicker membrane plug, functionalized with BMP-2, could find applications for rapid bone regeneration in deep lesions. In this work, we report that combining the nanostructured membrane with human osteoblasts in vivo showed rapid formation of bone tissue.

2. Large cartilage defects are currently very difficult to repair. The durable repair of such defects is increasingly seen as reliant on the integrity of the underlying subchondral bone. In this context, the combination of our proposed medical device with nanoreservoirs of BMP-2, osteoblasts and chondrocytes from patients has given some very exciting results in vivo (nude mice) and a convincing regeneration of subchondral bone has been achieved. This means that it should be possible to fabricate a combination cell-therapy implant capable of robust and durable cartilage repair in large defects.

3. Other growth factors could be used for different therapeutic targets.

 

Patents

 

Grants

Main grants

Agence Nationale de la Recherche